Gaja Hornby

Gaja Hornby is the fourth studio album and first Polish-language album by Polish singer Margaret. It was released digitally on 17 May 2019 and physically on 31 May 2019 by Artistars under exclusive license from Powerhouse, only in Poland.[2][3] The album introduces Maragret's alter ego Gaja Hornby.

Gaja Hornby
Studio album by Margaret
Released	17 May 2019
Recorded	2018–2019
Genre	Urban pop[1]
Length	23:42
Label	Artistars
Margaret chronology
Monkey Business (2017) Gaja Hornby (2019)
Singles from Gaja Hornby
"Gaja Hornby" Released: 22 April 2019 "Serce Baila" Released: 3 June 2019 "Chwile bez słów" Released: 10 July 2019 "Ej chłopaku" Released: 6 September 2019

Gaja Hornby charted at number 13 in Poland. Its title track was released as the first single in April 2019, and was followed by "Serce Baila", "Chwile bez słów" (featuring Kacezet), and "Ej chłopaku". Margaret embarked on a concert tour in October 2019, to accompany the album's release.

Background and development

In 2018, Margaret revealed that she was working on her first Polish-language album.[4] In March 2019, in an interview with Uroda Życia magazine, she announced that the title of the album would be Gaja Hornby, and that it would be released in April 2019; its release was later pushed back to 17 May. Prior to its release Margaret described it as her most honest record to date. The album was named after and introduced her alter ego Gaja Hornby. She created the name for her personal Facebook account at the beginning of her career to protect her privacy. It is a combination of a name she wished she was given at birth and the name of her favourite author Nick Hornby. Margaret explained that the reason she decided to use it as a name for the album was because this record is "much more personal" than her previous releases. She added that she is now ready to share the more personal side of her life with her fans as she is now older and has a "thicker skin".[5]

Margaret announced that the album would be reissued at the beginning of 2020, after initially announcing an extended play as its sequel.[6]

Music and lyrics

Gaja Hornby incorporates a more urban sound in comparison to Margaret's previous bubblegum pop releases, and explores themes such as environmentalism, online hate speech and the dark side of fame.[7][8]

Promotion

Singles

The album's title track was released as its lead single on 22 April 2019.[9] The second and third singles, "Serce Baila" and "Chwile bez słów" featuring Kacezet, were released on 3 June 2019 and 10 July 2019 respectively.[10][11] The fourth single, "Ej chłopaku", was released on 6 September 2019.[12] Margaret also released a lyric video for the album's track "Błyski fleszy, plotki, ścianki" in October 2019.[13]

Tour

Margaret embarked on a Gaja Hornby Tour, her first headlining concert tour, to accompany the album's release.[14] It visited five clubs in Poland between 2 and 25 October 2019;[15] the sixth and final show scheduled for 30 October was cancelled two days prior for undisclosed reasons.[16] During the tour, Margaret performed songs from Gaja Hornby, some of her biggest hits, and three new songs.[17][18]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Gazeta Wyborcza	[8]

Jarek Szubrycht in Gazeta Wyborcza praised Margaret for making progress as an artist and noted that Polish producers with whom she worked on the record significantly influenced its sound, which differs from that of her previous work, regarding it as a positive change.[8]

Accolades

Year	Organization	Award	Result	Ref.
2019	Róże Gali Awards	Music	Nominated	[19]
2020	Fryderyk	Album of the Year – Pop	Pending	[20]

Track list

Gaja Hornby[3][21]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gaja Hornby"	Małgorzata Jamroży, Piotr Kozieradzki, Mariusz Obijalski, Mikołaj Trybulec	2:40
2.	"Ten dzień"	Jamroży, Kozieradzki, Jan Szarecki	2:34
3.	"Serce Baila"	Jamroży, Kozieradzki, Szarecki	2:31
4.	"Błyski fleszy, plotki, ścianki"	Jamroży, Kozieradzki, Trybulec, Marek Walaszek	2:33
5.	"Ej chłopaku"	Jamroży, Kozieradzki, Mateusz Kochaniec, Dominic Buczkowski	2:37
6.	"VAJB" (featuring Gverilla)	Jamroży, Buczkowski, Szarecki, Kochaniec	3:00
7.	"Psia mać"	Jamroży, Kozieradzki, Szarecki	2:28
8.	"Chwile bez słów" (featuring Kacezet)	Jamroży, Kozieradzki, Szarecki, Trybulec, Kochaniec	2:40
9.	"Światło"	Jamroży, Kozieradzki, Trybulec, Kochaniec	2:39
Total length:			23:42

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[22]	13

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Poland	17 May 2019	Digital download streaming	Artistars	[3]
	31 May 2019	CD		[1]

References

1. "Gaja Hornby – Margaret". Empik. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
2. "Margaret – Tempo > już dostępne oficjalnie w Polsce!". DJ Raport. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
3. "Gaja Hornby by Margaret". Apple Music (PL). Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
4. "Margaret: Znalazłam swoje szczęście". Twój Styl (in Polish). 3 October 2018. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
5. Żakowska, Magdalena (March 2019). Maruszeczko, Anna (ed.). "Zdejmuję różową sukienkę". Uroda Życia (in Polish). Vol. 3/2019 no. 53. Edipresse Polska. p. 75. ISSN 2391-5218.
6. "Margaret o zerwaniu międzynarodowego kontraktu: "Mi się ten kontrakt nie skończył. Ja skończyłam ten kontrakt, bo chciałam robić inne rzeczy"" (in Polish). All About Music. 2 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
7. Jośko, Michał (30 June 2019). "Margaret na ostro. Piosenkarka o tym, jak porzuciła słodki pop dla nastolatek i może sobie poprzeklinać" (in Polish). NaTemat.pl. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
8. Szubrycht, Jarek (14 June 2019). "Czy te dziewczyny nas uwiodą?". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Vol. 138/2019. Agora SA. p. 18. ISSN 0860-908X. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
9. "Nowy singiel Margaret – oto Gaja Hornby" (in Polish). All About Music. 22 April 2019. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
10. "Serce Baila – Single by Margaret". Apple Music (PL). Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
11. "Chwile bez słów (feat. KaCeZet) – Single by Margaret". Apple Music (PL). Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
12. "Ej chłopaku (Radio Edit) – Single by Margaret". Apple Music (PL). Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
13. "Nowy teledysk od Margaret już dostępny!" (in Polish). All About Music. 21 October 2019. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
14. "Margaret rusza w pierwszą biletowaną trasę koncertową". All About Music. 21 February 2019. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
15. "Margaret ogłasza jesienną trasę koncertową. Sprawdźcie, gdzie zagra" (in Polish). Rytmy. 8 August 2019. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
16. "Koncert Margaret w Białymstoku" (in Polish). Spotted Lublin. 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
17. Dakowicz, Jakub (3 October 2019). "Margaret wystąpiła w Klubie Stodoła" (in Polish). Kulturalne Media. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
18. "Margaret zaprosiła do świata Gai Hornby. Relacja z koncertu w klubie Stodoła" (in Polish). Radio Eska. 3 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
19. "Róże Gali 2019: Cielecka, Staszczyk, Szczygieł i Zawierucha wśród nominowanych" (in Polish). Onet.pl. 7 October 2019. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
20. "Fryderyk 2020" (in Polish). ZPAV. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
21. "Credits / Gaja Hornby / Margaret". Tidal. Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
22. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 June 2019.